The Business Council of Westchester was recently awarded a $130,000 grant through the Westchester-Putnam Workforce Development Board to help train youth in the skills needed to be productive in the workforce.
A Business Council spokesman said the grant is an outgrowth of previous work with the Westchester-Putnam Workforce Investment Board that includes a private-sector summer jobs program and annual youth summit run by the Business Council. The Business Council also developed the Westchester Putnam Internship Connex website, a one-stop portal connecting students enrolled in colleges and universities in the area with internship opportunities at employers in the two counties.
With the training grant award, the Business Council will work directly with employers and job-seekers to ensure that youth in the Workforce Development Academy for Youth have access to a variety of work experiences as required under the federal Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act enacted in 2014. Those experiences include summer and year-round employment opportunities, mentoring, pre-apprenticeship programs, internships, job shadowing and on-the-job-training.
“The BCW is committed to helping young people gain the skills they need to compete in a global economy. It makes economic sense to give every young person an opportunity to thrive,” said Marsha Gordon, president and CEO of the Business Council of Westchester. “Our direct connection with major industry leaders in the region makes us uniquely qualified to match employers with young people who are hungry to learn and ready to work.”
For more information about the Business Council”™s workforce job training programs for youth, contact Ebony White, workforce development coordinator, at 914-948-2110 or by email at ewhite@thebcw.org.
